It was race day on Saturday, the Lululemon 10k, and
fortunately the rain held off and the sun broke through all the way to the
finish line. The sight of all those
people flowing like a multi-coloured river along Toronto streets is always
spectacular and the music and dancers encouraged us to keep chugging along
smartly (the meditators, however, not so much).
Quite a group of TPWers turned out for the race, and so it was nice to
be able to pair up with someone familiar to pace with. But I couldn't help think about the contrast
to what I had experienced in Stratford where I had gone a few days earlier
to see some plays at the Festival.
Because I was there mid- week it
made sense that the audiences were made up of mostly our demographic and older
but still I guess I have taken for granted the vitality and fitness level of
the TPW walkers - because I was surprised at how frail and unstable so many of
the Stratford audience members were. It almost
appeared as if everyone needed some kind of walking assistance: be it a regular cane, a three-legged cane, two
walking poles, a walker or a wheelchair.
I was a bit shocked until I realized that I must have become so used to
being with members of our lively and determined group that I had forgotten what
a lot of others in our age group are dealing with. It sure doesn't look like any fun. So whatever we're doing, it sure is
working! Let's keep it up for as long as
we can.